


Ace in the Hole

by Life_on_Vega



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Cardverse, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-18
Updated: 2014-05-18
Packaged: 2018-01-25 13:18:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1650008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Life_on_Vega/pseuds/Life_on_Vega
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Captain Lili Zwingli, queen of the Diamonds pirate fleet, seeks out a certain Joker to set up a world-changing plan...</p>
<p>This is a Cardverse and Pirate AU combination.  Originally written March 18, 2013.  Can also be reblogged on Tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ace in the Hole

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mistflyer1102](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mistflyer1102/gifts).



> See this post for my original inspiration and ideas for this story: http://lifeonvega.tumblr.com/post/45527292823/2kokoro-heroscone-sweethearts-week-day-2
> 
> To reblog this story on Tumblr, go here: http://lifeonvega.tumblr.com/post/85919784087/ace-in-the-hole

Lili Zwingli threaded her way past crowds of revelers in the town’s streets. Tonight was not one where she wanted to be seen. Being short and dressed in men’s clothing helped her get by without much notice – of course, the copious amounts of rum the sailors were drinking certainly didn’t hurt.

They did have a good reason to celebrate, though. This island, L’île des Voleurs, had successfully warded off an attack from the Clubs fleet. Lili’s ship,  _Wolfsbane_ , had even scored a hit on one of the masts of the  _Nocturne_ , captained by the Jack of Clubs, Roderich Edelstein.  _Nocturne_  and her remaining allied ships had been forced to retreat. She smiled at the memory – just because she looked more like a princess than a pirate didn’t mean she was any less cunning.

 She was brought out of her memory when she turned onto a darkened alleyway. There were no revelers here, only a half-asleep man who was slumped on a barrel and leaning against a wall. A tomcat rested on his lap. Next to the pair was a sturdy wooden door. Lili walked over to him and cleared her throat.

He didn’t move, but the brown cat looked up at her and blinked. She rolled her eyes and tried again. “Excuse me? Herakles?”

This time, she earned a yawn and a dazed look from the man. “Mm-hm?” He pulled some brown hair out of his face to rub at his eyes.

“Old Fritz said this place had good beer,” said Lili. She looked at him expectantly.

Herakles blinked again, then his eyebrows rose. “Old Fritz said… Right. That’s the password.” He slid off the barrel and set the cat on the ground. “Off you go, Isis,” he murmured as the feline scrambled away. From a hidden pocket inside of his vest, he pulled out an iron key and inserted it into the lock on the door. Yawning again, he pulled it open to reveal a dimly lit hallway. “This way, please.”

“Thank you, Herakles.” Just as she stepped in, he closed the door behind her, locking it once more. Lili knew that he would be asleep again in a minute. She wondered how he was able to do it – he was always snoozing in the oddest positions.

But there was business to be done. She walked down the hallway, counting the doors on her right side to make sure that she would reach the correct one. The seventh one was the one she wanted. But just as the door was in sight, it opened to reveal a blonde-haired boy no older than twelve. He noticed her, glowered, and swung the door shut behind him.

“And just who do you think you are?” he asked, spreading his legs and putting his hands on his hips. It did nothing to make him more intimidating.

“I’m Captain Zwingli,” she replied, “And I’d like to speak to Captain Beilschmidt.”

“Uh-huh…” the boy squinted, “And why should I let you see him?”

“Because I want to discuss a potential plan with him, of course.  Besides, I don’t think it’s your place to say who he can and can’t see.”

He glared in indignation.  “Do you know who I am?  I’m Captain Peter Kirkland and my ship is  _Robin Goodfellow_!  And I’m a Joker, too, so you’d better watch yourself!”

"I had guessed that you were a Joker by your clothes,” said Lili.  “In any case, won’t you ask him if I can talk to him now?”

Muttering something about “dumb visitors,” he entered the room again.  Their speech was muffled, but the squawk she heard sounded like “Zwingli?!”  In a moment, the door opened and Peter stood before her with a smirk.

“Sorry, Gilbert said that he doesn’t want to see Vash Zwingli.”

 _Oh, so that’s the problem,_  she thought.

She gave a long, audible sigh.  “Well, that’s a shame,” she said, louder than she needed to, “I was so hoping that I would get to see Gilbert again after he was gone for such a long time.  I guess I’ll just have to leave and come back later…”

Within the room there came the sound of feet scrambling across the floor.  The door was yanked open once more, and a man popped out with white hair and red eyes.  His face seemed to glow brighter at the sight of the woman.  “Lili!  It’s you!”  He turned to Peter and demanded, “Why didn’t you tell me it was her?”

“I didn’t know!” cried Peter, “She didn’t say her name, I just thought it was a guy with a high voice!”

The man groaned.  “Peter, we’ve been over this!  Vash is the one who wants to kill me.  Lili is the one who likes me.  Next time, tell me if a Zwingli is waving a gun around, and then I’ll know!  Ah, come on in, Lili.”

Lili strode inside the room and tried not to smile at Peter’s flabbergasted expression.  When the door shut, Gilbert pulled her into an embrace.  “God, I’ve missed you, Lili.”

“Me too,” she said.  They pulled apart.  “I heard rumors that you were all over the Pentacle Sea, but no one was certain.  Some said you were here, others said you were in Heart territory, and someone claimed to see you in the Club fleet.”

“The Clubs?!  I mean, Jokers will bargain with anybody, but you know, there’s Ivan, and Elizaveta…” he rubbed the back of his head.  “I mean, yeah, I’ll deal with them, but I’d prefer to stay away from them a little longer.  But wait, that reminds me – I heard that you took down a mast on Roddy’s ship!”  He beamed at her, and she smiled.

“I don’t think he ever expected me to do that,” she said.  “Let’s just say that he didn’t feel much like fighting after that.”

Gilbert cackled.  “I wish I could’ve seen the look on his face!  Ah, that’s worth a drink!”  He walked over to a cabinet and rummaged around the flasks inside.  “In case you were wondering, I was in Hearts, and while I was there I managed to get some beer.  It’s the good stuff, even, not the cheap kind!”  He pulled out two bottles and plunked them on a small, wooden table.

Lili thanked him, sat down on the chair and reached for a bottle.  After a sip, she spoke again.  “I wish I could say I was just here to catch up, but I’ve also been sent here for official business.”

Gilbert slouched in chair.  “All right, shoot,” he said, as he took a long swig.

“You probably already know this, thanks to your connections, but the Diamond Court has amassed both treasure and ships.  This is the strongest we’ve ever been.  Because of this, Francis believes that this is our best chance to take Carreaux Island.  It takes more than just ships and men to win a battle, however – it requires cunning.  We would like the help of the Jokers in capturing the islands.”

Gilbert stared at Lili for a moment, and slowly placed his bottle on the table.  “You want me to go up against the Spades – the biggest of all the pirate fleets?”  He whistled.  “You don’t go halfway, do you?”

Lili met his gaze.  “We aren’t asking you to face them directly.  You know what you do best – quick strikes at their weakest points, and a little bit of sabotage.  If you helped us, you’d be greatly rewarded.  Carreaux Island is a busy port–”

“And the first place that Arthur Kirkland took from Francis,” said Gilbert.  His eyes narrowed.  “I know the history between those two.  Don’t get me wrong, I can respect wanting revenge.  But if he’s just angry and has no plan, then I’m not sticking my neck out for him.”

Lili held her head a little higher.  “We do have a plan, Gilbert.  We’re not so foolish as to attack head-on.  We’re going to draw away some of the ships currently docked at the harbor – including  _The Queen’s Revenge_.  While they’re involved in an open-sea battle, other ships will attack those still docked, and several parties will land on the unguarded side of the island to rejoin the group in town and take the forts.  Either  _The Queen’s Revenge_  will sink in the open water, or she’ll sink from the fort’s cannons if she tries to return.”

The Joker leaned back and nodded.  “All right… better.  One problem with your plan, though.  Even the far side of the island isn’t really ‘unguarded.’  There’s a ship that patrols that side,  _Lady North_.  You’ll have to deal with that if you want to land anyone.”

“Well, that’s why we have an ace in the hole.”  Lili quirked a smile.  “Perhaps you’d be convinced if I told you who it was…?”

Well, that was interesting.  Gilbert nodded, and Lili rose from her seat to go to Gilbert’s side.  She cupped her hands around his left ear and whispered, “Matthew Williams.”

Jokers were not often surprised, so she got to enjoy the look of shock on Gilbert’s face for a moment.  “The captain of  _Lady North_.  No way.”

“Yes.  And he’s going to help us.  He’ll let our boarding parties pass by him.”

By now, Gilbert was sporting a wicked grin. “This just might be crazy enough to work.  I’d consider joining in, depending on the payment…”

The queen reached for the inside pockets of her brown jacket and withdrew three stuffed pouches.  She placed them on the table and opened one, doubloons spilling onto the surface.  “Three pouches of gold in advance.  Francis likes you – he’ll give you much more when we succeed.”

After checking the other two bags (it never paid to be unwary) Gilbert smiled at Lili.  “But you like me too, right?”

“Is that even a question?”  She took a step back to allow him to stand up.

“In that case, you’ve got the Jokers on your side.”  He extended his hand, and they shook.  His grin reappeared.  “I’ve got a lot of scheming to do in the next few days, but I can always save it for tomorrow morning…”

She could only offer him a rueful smile.  “I’d love to spend the night with you, but the crew will wonder where I am.  I can’t afford to be seen out and about by too many people.”

He sighed.  “I was afraid you’d say that.”  He glanced behind him.  “But you know, we haven’t finished the beer yet…”

“That we haven’t,” said Lili, and she took her seat again.  As Gilbert sat across from her, she asked, “So, what were you doing in Hearts territory?”

“Hey, I’m a Joker, I can’t reveal all my secrets!” he winked.

She shrugged.  “Worth a shot.”

After an hour and several good-bye kisses (Gilbert kept insisting on just one more), Lili swiftly left the building into the shadows of the night.  From his window, he watched her walk down the alley and disappear from sight.  Taking on the Queen of All Pirates would be no easy task, he mused.  But with the Diamonds, an Ace, and his own Jokers gathered on one side, he knew that this would be a battle that history would remember.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is just trivia stuff about islands and ship names.
> 
> L’île des Voleurs: Island of Thieves
> 
> Wolfsbane: a very pretty flower… which is also extremely poisonous. Also known as, “the queen of poisons,” monkshood, leopard’s bane, woman’s bane, devil’s helmet, or blue rocket.
> 
> Nocturne: a musical piece reminiscent of or inspired by night. Very fitting for Roderich!
> 
> Robin Goodfellow: another name for Puck, a trickster from English folklore and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
> 
> Carreaux Island: Carreaux is the French word for “diamonds,” in the sense of the card suit. You understand why Francis wants the island back. (Also, let’s pretend that we’re using the word “Island” because Arthur has the place and wants to use English.)


End file.
